I’ve got some more Christmas cards for you…..Can you believe Christmas is just a few short days away!!! I’ve barely started my Christmas shopping…LOL…..good thing I always give out a lot of handmade gifts….

On another note….. I just got braces on my teeth last week. I had no idea the pain people really go through with these things!!! I was expecting the teeth to be sore, no surprise there, but I had no idea how badly these things tear up the insides of your cheeks!!! This is insanity-level pain, and I only have the top ones on right now (won’t be getting the bottom ones for another 3 months because they have to move the top ones a bit to get the lower ones to fit.). And I also love how they wait to spring on the list of foods you can’t eat until they already have these torture devices on….. There are TONS of healthy foods on the list of things you can not eat…. so I better stock up on the vitamins. Can’t have (or at least have to be very very careful with) raw vegetables, whole apples, nuts, popcorn, etc…..I know its logical, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it 🙂 On the other hand….On the suggested list are ice cream, cake, brownies, pudding….Doesn’t it sound like a license to go junk food crazy??? 🙂

On to the cards…. All of these cards are pretty quick to finish, so if you still need to make more cards before Christmas hop to it, and try these on for size…

Project 115 of 365: Delights of the Season

115 of 365: Delights of the Season

Not much explanation needed for this one, just a simple card pieced together, but don’t you just love that ornament punch. I could not have been happier than when I saw that Stampin Up had made two more stamp sets to use with this punch (Contempo Christmas and Tags Til Christmas), and they are both MUST HAVE sets!!! (please ignore the sloppy glue marks on this one…..this was one of the earlier versions when I was experimenting with what to do with the strings on the ornaments….tiny glue dots are much less noticeable than using actual glue…)

Stamp Sets: Delightful Decorations, Many Merry Messages

Project 116 of 365: Decorate with Joy

116 of 365: Decorate with Joy

Stamps Used: Delightful Decorations

Project 117 of 365: Snow Swirled Resist

117 of 365: Snow Swirled Resist

This card happened because I had seen a really similar card online somewhere last year, but I didn’t have the really pretty patterned paper that they had used on the bottom of the card….So I did what I do best….I improvised and made my own patterned paper. I started with a plain old sheet of whisper white card stock. Then I used my versamark glue pad to randomly stamp the snowflakes from the Snow Swirled Stamp Set all over my 12×12 sheet of cardstock. I then sprinkled it with Iridescent Ice Emboss Powder and used my heat gun to emboss it. After that I used a sponge dauber and Soft Suede Ink to rub all over the paper. In person this really looks so much more beautiful and sparkly than in the picture. It actually looks quite suede like from the rubbing of the ink across the paper and purposely applying the ink uneven. This is one of those projects where it pays off to be sloppy 🙂 (this technique is called Emboss Resist.)

Stamps Used: Snow Swirled, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Project 118 of 365: Snow Swirled Navy

118 of 365: Snow Swirled Navy

Ask anyone who has ever done a Christmas card class and they will likely tell you that I am obsessed with heat embossing. I just love the effect, the smooth raised texture of the ink. It just looks so classy and professional. And running a close second to heat embossing would be using any of the emboss folders or texture plates in my Sizzix Big Shot. “Texture, Texture, Texture” is my motto and I can’t get enough of it when I’m making cards!! Seriously, all these texture effects are soooooo easy and so much cheaper than the been-there-done-that patterned paper that everyone has. So don’t be intimidated by that heat gun, give it a shot, you will be hooked just like me.

If you are wondering how I got the tree and the greeting lined up so straight…..check out the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig (yes, that ‘s its real name.) If you are a perfectionist this will be your best friend!!